Bale tie making machine



April 7, 1942. G. K. GAUMER BALE TIEMAKING MACHINE 5 Shets-Sheet 1 FiledSept. 25, 1940 EVE-Z7 Ur Ge0rye- KG'aume1 am 5 April 7, 1942. G. K.GAUMER 2,278,613

BALE TIE MAKING MACHINE I 'Filed Sept. 25, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet '2 9ZWEHYUP' 1 George K Qczumezf April 7, 1942. e. K. GAUMER BALE TIE MAKING MACHINE Filed Sept. 25, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Geo? e 71'. CvczumexApril 1942- e. K. GAUMER 2,278,613

BALE TIE MAKING MACHINE Filed Sept. 25, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 III 5171GTGeqzzge .71. Gazzmer by v 5 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 En UP April 7, 1942.

. G. K. GAUMER BALE TIE MAKING MACHINE Filed Sept. ,25, 1940 PatentedApr. 7, 1942 UNETED S'TAII'ES PATET QFFEQE Northwestern Steel and WireCompany,

Sterling, IiL, a corporation of Illinois Application September 25, 1940,Serial No. 358,227 20 Claims. (01. 140-73) This invention relates tohigh speed wire fabricating machinery and more particularly relates tomachines for making bale ties at the rate of 90 to 100 per minute.

The invention will hereinafter be described as embodied in a high speedbale tie making machine, but it should be understood that machines ofthis invention are adapted for the fabrication of wire, rod, or striparticles in general.

According to this invention a plurality of wires are continually fed inspaced relation directly from an annealing furnace, drawing dies, orreels, through a cut-off mechanism into elongated wire guides. The feedmechanism is constantly driven and grips opposite sides of each wire.The cutter mechanism is intermittently operated to sever the wiresreceived in th guides into desired lengths. slack take-up springs areprovided between the constantly driven feed mechanism and theintermittently operated cut-off mechanism to compensate for themomentary cessation of forward movement of the wires when the same aresevered.

The severed wire lengths in the guides are then dumped from the guidesinto conveyors which laterally move the wire lengths in spaced parallelrelation into work supports. These work supports may conveniently takethe form of peripherally notched disks.

Each wire length deposited in the work support is longitudinally shiftedto align an end thereof for a looping operation. A feature of thisinvention includes the provision of magnetic means for resisting thelongitudinal shifting of the wire lengths in order that the same willonly he moved the exact distance controlled by the aligner. The magneticdevice imparts frictional resistance to the longitudinal shifting andprevents coasting of the wires beyond the desired position. In the highspeed machines of this inj vention the aligner must operate with greatrapidity and the magnetic device readily accommodates such rapid action.

The properly aligned wire length is then moved by the work supports intothe loop-forming mechanism wherein the aligned end of the wire is outaround a twister head, the free end of the bent portion and the adjacentwire portion clamped b a vise and the twister head rotated to braid thewires together for forming a permanent open loop on the end of each wirelength.

Another important feature of this invention includes the provision of atie straightener which prevents bowing of the wire during the bendingoperation and aligns the portion of the wire adjacent the bent fre endportion in parallel relation with the bent free end portion for insuringa uniform braiding together of the contacting wire portions.

The work supports are next moved to discharge the finished bale ties andat the same time to receive a new wir length from the conveyor.

It is, then, an object of this invention to provide high speed wire, rodor strip fabricating machines capable of rapidly forming finishedarticles in uniform condition.

A specific object of this invention is to provide an improved bale tiemaking machine capable of automatically producing over 90 finished baleties per minute.

Another object of this invention is to provide a feed mechanism for wirefabricating machinery which positively grips opposite side surfaces ofeach wire to impart positive movement thereto without damaging thegripped surfaces.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved wire severingapparatus having replaceabl severing knives that can be readily adjustedto compensate for wear.

Another object of the invention is to provide knife holders in a wiresevering mechanism which removably secure knives of inexpensive shapeand which afford rapid adjustment and replacement of the knives.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rapidly operating wirelength aligner.

Another specific object of the invention is to provide a magnetic devicein a bale tie machine which imparts resistance to longitudinal shiftingof wire lengths in th machine.

A further object of the invention is to provide a tie straightenermechanism in a bale tie machine which insures uniform looping of thewire end.

Other and further objects of the invention will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art from the following detailed description of theannexed Sheets of drawings which, by way of example, illustrate apreferred embodiment of the invention.

On the drawings:

Figure 1 is a broken front elevational view of a bale tie machineaccording to this invention.

Figure 2 is an end elevational view taken along the line II-II of Figure1.

Figure 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view, with parts in elevation,taken along the line III-III of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is an end elevational View, with parts in vertical crosssection, taken along the line IVIV of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the line V-V ofFigure 1.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary plan view, with parts omitted, taken along theline VIVI of Figure 1.

Figure '7 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the line VIIVIIof Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the lineVIIIVIII of Figure 6.

Figure 9 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the line IX-IXof Figure 8.

Figure 10 is a fragmentary end elevational view taken along the line X-Xof Figure 9.

Figure 11 is a vertical cross-sectional View taken along the line flm ofFigure 6.

Figure 12 is a fragmentary front plan View taken along the line XII-XIIof Figure 6.

Figure 13 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the lineXIIIXIII of Figure 12.

Figure 14 is a vertical cross-sectional view, with parts omitted, takenalong the line XIV-XIV of Figure 12.

Figure 15 is a fragmentary plan view taken along the line XV-XV ofFigure 14.

Figure 16 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view taken along theline XVIXVI of Figure 15.

Figure 17 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken along the lineXVIIXVII of Figure 16.

Figure 18 is a fragmentary plan view of the wire aligner mechanism.

Figure 19 is a fragmentary vertical cross-sectional view, with parts inside elevation, of the loop forming and tie straightener mechanism.

Figure 20 is a fragmentary top plan view taken along the line 2Q-XX ofFigure 19.

Figure 20A is an end elevational view taken along the line XXA-XXA ofFigure 20.

Figure 20B is a vertical cross section taken along the line XXB-XXB ofFigure 20.

Figure 21 is a diagrammatic top plan view illustrating the loop formingand tie straightener mechanisms in initial position.

Figure 22 is a diagrammatic plan view illustrating the loop forming andtie straightener mechanisms in closed position.

Figure 23 is a fragmentary side elevational view of control cams and camlevers for the machine.

Figure 24 is a development of the cam surface on the left hand cam inFigure 23.

Figure 25 is a development of the cam surface on the middle cam inFigure 23.

Figure 26 is a development of the cam surfaces on the right hand cam inFigure 23.

Fig. 2'7 is a broken side elevational view of a bale tie.

As shown on the drawings:

In general, the machine may be considered to consist of a wire feedmechanism which continually supplies a plurality of wires, a cuttermechanism which receives the wires from the feed mechanism and seversthe same into wire lengths, a wire guide and release mechanism whichholds the wire lengths and discharges the same into the machine whenneeded, a conveyor mechanism which receives the discharged wires fromthe guide mechanism, an aligner mechanism which evens up the ends of thewire lengths, a loop former mechanism which forms a looped end On thewire lengths, and a tie straightener mechanism which holds the wires soas to insure uniform formation of the loops.

For convenience each of the above mentioned mechanisms will be describedunder a separate heading.

The wire feeder The wire feed mechanism is best shown at ID in Figures1, 2 and 3. The mechanism I0 is illustrated as mounted on a frameindependent from the main frame of the bale tie machine.

A driven belt I2 drives a pulley I3 which pulley in turn drives theshaft 4 to rotate a jaw clutch I5 for driving a shaft I6. The jaw clutchI5 is controlled by a link I! on a lever |8 pivotally supported on theshaft I4.

The shaft I6 is connected through pinions H! to a large bevel gear 20.The bevel gear 2!! drives a train of gears 2| which rotate the maindrive shaft 22. Six feed rolls 23 are secured on the shaft 22 in spacedrelation. Each feed roll 23 has a gear 24 bolted or otherwise securedthereto.

The feed roll mechanism I0 is provided with spaced guides 25 on eachside of the feed rolls 23 and these guides extend above the rolls asshown. Bearing blocks 26 are slidably mounted in the guides androtatably support top feed rolls 21 having gears 28 adapted to mesh withgears 24 on the feed rolls 23.

The bearing blocks 26 are vertically movable in the guides 25 and arespring pressed toward the bottom feed rolls 23 by means of coil springs29 encased in housings 30 at the top of each bearing block. Adjustingbolts 3| are threaded through the tops of the housings 30 and actagainst the coil springs 29.

The teeth of the toothed portions 24 and 28 of the feed rolls are ratherlong so that they can engage even when the peripheries of the feed rollsare spaced apart for a considerable distance to accommodate wires Wtherebetween having large diameters. The top and bottom feed rolls arethus positively driven and no slippage can occur therebetween.

Each top feed roll is separately adjusted relative to its cooperatinglower feed roll by means of an adjusting bolt 3|.

The feed rolls grip the opposite sides of the wires W as best shown inFigure 3 and positively move each wire through a coil spring tube 32(Figure 1) which serves as a guide into the cut off mechanism. The coilspring guides are adapted to be bowed against spring tension when thecut off mechanism momentarily stops the forward passage of the wires toaccommodate an added length of wire since the feed mechanism continuallyfeeds the wires into the tubes. The coil spring tubes therefore act asautomatic slack take up mechanisms. When bowed by the increased lengthsof wires therein the springs are stressed and tend to reassume anunstressed straight position thereby moving the wires through the cutteras soon as the cutter permits such movement.

The cutter As shown in Figures 1, 4, 6, 8, 9 and 10, the wires W arepushed by the feed mechanism from the coil spring tubes 32 through anapertured die block 35 carried on standards 36 from the main frame F ofthe bale tie machine. The block 35 has six spaced apertures 31therethrough each receiving a wire W directly from a tube 32. Eachaperture preferably has a beveled mouth 3111 (Fig. 9) for readyinsertion of the leading ends of the wires into the die block.

As best shown in Figures 8 and 9 the face of the block 35 facing thecutter I0 is recessed in the top portionthereof as at. 35.11. Six spacedsemi-cylindrical recesses 35b depend from. the recess 35a between theapertures 31. Six shafts 38 extend through the block 35 and project intothe segmental cylindrical recesses35b as shown. Arms 39 are secured on,each shaft 38 and have rounded lower ends in spaced. relation from thecylindrical walls of the recesses 35b. The arms 39 are adapted to swingin the recesses 35a and 35b.

Theother ends: of theshafts 38 have knife carrier blocks 40 securedthereon. One edge of each block 40 is grooved as at 4611' to provide 'auide for a knife 4|. A second block 42 has a similar groove 42a forreceiving the other edge of the knife. A block 42" is secured to eachblock 40 by means of bolts 43. The knives 4| operate close to the faceof the die block 35 as best shown in Figure 9 and are forced through thewires W projecting through the apertures 31 to cut off the leading endsof the wires.

Each knife is removably held by the blocks 46 and 4.2 and can be readilyadjusted in the blocks. The knives can thusassume a simple square rodshape-with one end sharpened to provide asharp cutting edge. As theknives need regrinding they can be removed from the blocks, sharpened,and readily replaced in the blocks. They are adapted to project from theblocks for any desired distance and thus can be used after repeatedgrinding operations which materially shorten their length.

The arms 39 are all pivoted to a single bar 44 which is loosely linkedto an operating arm 45 which is keyed on a shaft 46. When the shaft 46is rotated to turn the arm 45 the bar 44 is rocked to move all of thearms 39 for driving the cutter knives 4| past the apertures 31 and thussever any wires projecting from the apertures. It will be noted that thesharpened end of each knife 4| is beveled in a direction away from'theblock 35 so that, during the severing operation, the leading ends of thewires are moved by the cutters into spaced relation from the block.

The operating arm 45 has a tail portion 45a (Fig. 8) pressed by a spring41 to return the cutters to their initial position after each cuttingoperation.

As shown in Figures 4 and 6, the end of the shaft 46 has a yoke 46therearound anchored in the end of an arm 49. The arm 49 is thussuspended from the shaft and can swing longitudinally of the shaft.

A pin 50 is threaded through the end of the arm 49 and seated into arecess in the shaft 46 so that the shaft will be rotated when the arm israised. However, the pin does not interfere with swinging movement ofthe arm.

The free end of the arm 49 has a shoe 49a thereon adapted to beprojected into the path of a roller on a large constantly driven gear52. The gear 52 meshes with a pinion 53 on .a shaft 54 extending to thefeed mechanism as shown in Figure 1 and driven by the shaft l6 of thefeed mechanism through the bevel gears I9 as shown in Figure 2.

An intermediate portion of the arm 49 has a strap 49b thereon receivinga rod 55. The rod 55 extends into the groove 56a of a cam 56 as bestshown in Figure 6. The cam 56 has a gear 51 thereon meshing with a gear58 on a shaft 59. The shaft 59 has a ratchet 66 (best shown in Figure'7) thereon driven by a pawl 6| on the end of a lever 62. The lever 62carriesv a roller 63 actuated by. means of a cam 64:v on a. main driveshaft 65. ..The gear 52: is. secured tothe main drive shaft 65 andconstantly. rotates. this shaft.

It will be noted'that theratchet 60 has eight teeth thereon. The cam 64on the main shaft 65 actuates the pawl 6|. once for each revolution oftheshaft 65. The. pawl, in turn, advances the ratchet 60 a. distance ofone tooth for each. revolution. of, the shaft 65. Therefore the shaft 59is rotated only once for every eight rotations .of the shaft 65. Therotation of the shaftv 59 moves the cam 56 to longitudinally shift therod 55 for moving the shoe. 49a of the arm 49 into the path of theroller 5| on the large gear 52. As the shoe 49a rides over the roller 5|the arm. 49 is tripped to rock the shaft 46 and effect the rocking ofthe bar 44v tomove the cutters. As soon as the roller 5| has cleared theshoe 49a the spring 41 returns theshaft46 and moves the cutters toneutral position.

The wire guides and release mechanism As shown in Figures 1, 6 and 11the wires are pushed through the cutter apertures 31 directly intoelongated open bottom guides 16 suspended from arms 1| of brackets 12secured at spaced intervals to the rear portion of the main frame F. Theguides 16 extend along the-full lengthofthe machine as shown in Figure 1from the cutter and are aligned with the apertures 31 in the cutter.

Closure bars 13 (Figure 11) close the open bottoms of the guides 16 andare supported on fingers 14 carried by abar 15 which is. slidablymounted in tracks 16 on each arm The rear ends of the bars 15 arepivotedto arms" which are keyed on the shaft. 46 described above. Every timethe shaft 46is rocked by tripping of the arm 49 as the shoe 49a ridesover the roller5| ,the arms 11 are rocked to move the fingers 14 forcarrying the bars '|.3 past. the over the roller 5|, the arms 11 arerocked to move the guides is simultaneous with the actuation of thecutters so that the wire lengths in the guides can drop by gravity outof the open bottoms of the guides. V

' The conveyors As best shown in Figure 11 the wires -W, upon beingreleased from the guides'lll, fall by gravity into the pockets P ofendless conveyors 86 which extend under the guides. These conveyors movelaterally in the machine and are trained aroundrearsprockets 8| whichare keyed on the shaft 59 as shown in Figure 7. Idler sprockets 82(Figure 11) are loosely mounted on a shaft- 63 extending. longitudinallyin the machine in spaced parallel relation in front of the shaft 59.

Each conveyor 80 is built. up of a plurality of chain linkscarryingtriangular support members 84 having their apexes in spaced relation andhaving sloping sides defining the pockets P for receiving the wires.

Since the rear sprockets 8| are secured on the shaft 59, they. aredriven by the ratchet 66 and eachtime thepawl 6| actuatesthe ratchet theconveyors 86 are movedforwardly'one step. Thus six wiresv aresimultaneously deposited in the conveyors and the conveyors are thenmoved a step. at. a time so that the sixth wire is moved out from underthe guides before the, shaft 46 is again tripped to release a batch of.six new wires.

As shown in Figure 6, the conveyors 80 are spaced at intervals along thelength of the machine'u'nder. theguides'm."

by the looping device.

The conveyors 80 dump the wires, one at a time, onto inclined ways 85.The wires fall by gravity along the ways 85 into the notches 88 ofperipherally notched disks or work supports 81 mounted at spacedintervals along the length of the machine on a shaft 88.

The shaft 88 is driven through a ratchet 89 secured thereon, by a pawl90. The pawl 90 is pivotally mounted on a bell crank 9| which isoscillated by a cam 92 on the main cam shaft 93 of the machine. Thismain cam shaft 93 is driven from the shaft 65 through a gear train 94 asshown in Figure 6. The middle gear'of the train of gears 94 is mountedon an idler shaft 95.

A large diameter gear 96 is loosely mounted on the end of the shaft 93and carries a pawl and ratchet device as best shown in Figure 5. Astherein indicated, a ratchet 91 is secured to the gear 96 and is drivenby a pawl 88 pivotally mounted in a housing 99. The housing 99 isoscillated by means of a crank I having a driving arm IOI pivoted to thelarge gear 52 in spaced relation from the axis of the gear. It will benoted that the ratchet 91 only has three teeth so that the large gear 96is only moved through one revolution for each three revolutions of thegear 52, for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

The aligner mechanism In order that the cut ends of the wires depositedinto the work support disks 81 be aligned uniformly, it is necessary tolongitudinally shift each cut wire length as soon as it is depositedinto the notches 80 of the disks. The wires are purposely initiallydeposited in the disks so that the ends thereof to be looped are spacedtoo close to the inlet end of the machine for proper action Inaccordance with this invention, therefore, as shown in Figure 18, apusher I is mounted in the path of the cut ends of the wire adjacent thefirst disk 81. This pusher I05 is carried on an arm I06 having a pin I01riding in a cam groove I08 of a cam I09 secured on the main cam shaft93.

The pusher I05 is actuated by the cam I09 to longitudinally shift eachwire length W in the supporting disk 81 for properly aligning the endsof the wires. Since the machine is operating at high speed, the pusherI05 must travel at a high rate. The impulse of each wire caused by thepusher may be sufiicient to cause a. longitudinal coasting of the wirebeyond the desired position.

According to this invention, therefore, as best shown in Figures 12 and13, a permanent magnet H0 in the form of a segmental circular shoe isstationarily mounted adjacent the first disk 81 in the path of the wirescarried by the disk. This magnet creates a magnetic field around thewires which arrests any objectionable coasting of the wire beyond theposition created by the pusher. The permanent magnet also serves tosecurely hold the wires in the notches of the disk 81.

As shown in Figure 13 the magnet only extends around the top portion ofthe disk so that the wires can be dumped out of the disk after thelooping operation hereinafter described.

While a permanent magnet shoe H0 is preferred it is obvious that anelectromagnet can be used. The periphery of the magnet is circular tofollow the contour of the wires when fully seated in the notches of thedisk.

The 100p former 7 As best shown in Figures 12 and 19, thedisks 81 movethe wires over a stationary anvil III. The disks feed one wire at a timeto the anvil III. A vise II2 carries a gripper block or hammer II3 abovethe anvil III. The vise H2 is pivoted as at I I4 and has a dependent camactuated lever ,II4a to open and close the vise so that the gripper willclamp the wire on the anvil III by mechanism hereinafter described.

A twister member I I5 carries a dependent loop shaping pin H6 at itsforward edge and is supported on a rotatable shaft or head H1. The shaftII 1 is driven by a gear II8 meshing with the large gear 96 describedabove.

The member H5 is pivotally supported on the end of the shaft H1 and hasa spring urged tail portion II5a (Fig. 203) adapted to be engaged by aslidable collar I20 slidably mounted on the shaft I I1 and actuated by ayoked arm I2I. The arm I2I is controlled by a cam I22 on the main camshaft 93 as best shown in Figure 23. When the cam I22 trips the arm I2Ito slide the collar I20 over the tail 511 of the tripper member II5 thepin II6 will be moved out of the loop of the finished bale tie ashereinafter described.

The arm I2I carries a roller I23 held on the operating face of the camI22 by means of a spring I24 as shown in Figure 23.

A looping pin I 25 is carried on the end of an arm I260. of a formingpost I26 as best shown in Figure 16. The forming post I26 is mounted inan upstanding cylindrical bushing I21 pressed into a housing I28, Thearm I26a provides a shoulder I262) riding on the enlarged end I21a ofthe bushing I21 so as to have a substantial contact therewith.

As shown in Figure a V-notch I260 is cut in the arm I26 to communicatewith a vertical groove I along the post I for providing an oil groovethroughout the entire length of the cylinder I21.

The lower end of the post I28 has a beveled pinion I30 keyed thereon bymeans of a key I3I. The pinion is held on the postby means of a nut I32.

As best shown in Figure 14, the pinion I30 meshes with gear teeth I33 onan arm I34, carried by a short stub shaft I35 from the bracket I28. Theother end of the arm I34 carries a pin I36 riding in a groove I31 of acam I38. As shown in Figure 23, the cam I38 is secured on the main camshaft 93.

As illustrated in Figure 21 the looping pin I25 abuts one side of thewire W while the twister pin I I0 abuts the other side of the wire W.The post I26 is then rotated to move the pin I25 for bend ing the wirearound the twister pin I I6 as shown in Figure 22.

The end of the wire is thus looped.

The vise I I2 is next actuated by a cam surface I310. on the cam I38acting against a roller I Iflb on the lever II 441 (Fig. 23) to move thegripper II3 on top of both portions of the wire as shown in Figure 22for clamping the wire portions against movement. A spring S holds theroller II lb on the cam surface I31a as shown in Figure 23 and opens thevise when the roller rides on the low spots of the cam.

The twister pin H6 is next rotated by rotation of the shaft I I1 totwist the looped end and form a braid twist 'I to produce the finishedbale tie B. T. as shown in Figure 27.

After the twisting operation the vise H2 is opened, the collar I20 movedon the shaft IIT against the tail portion of the twister II 5 to movethe pin IIB out of the loop and the disks 81 are rotated to discharge afinished bale tie out of the machine and to bring a new wire length overthe anvil III.

The tie straightener Since the wrapping. of the wire around the twisterpin II6 as illustrated in Figures 21 and 22 is apt to cause a bowing ofthe wire between the anvil and the pin II6, which would interfere with atwisting together of the free end of the wire and the adjacentintermediate portion of the wire, the present invention now provides astraightener member I40 slidably carried by the vise H2 on a pin I4Ila(Fig. 20A) and adapted to thrust against the wire to prevent a bowing ofthe same during the looping operation and to cooperate with the loopingpin I25 for laying the free end of the wire tightly against theintermediate portion of the wire around which it is to be twisted.

As shown in Figures 19, 20 and 20A, the vise II2 has ears I4I on oneside thereof pivotally supporting a lever I42 which is pivoted at itslower end to the member I40. The upper end of the lever I42 lies in thepath of a block I43 slidably mounted on the vise H2 and having aninclined surface I43a adapted to act on the lever I42. The block I43 hasa boss I431) through which extends a rod I44. A coil spring I45 isdisposed around the rod I44 on the other side of the boss I431) and therod has an enlarged head I 44a for retaining the spring between the headand the boss.

The rod I44 is connected through a flexible coupling I46 with a secondrod I41 carried in the end of a lever I48. The lever I48 is pivoted atI49 to the frame F of the machine as shown in Figure 19' and extendsbelow the frame as shown.

The lower end of the lever carries a roller I50 acted on by a cam IIcarried on the main cam shaft 93. The cam is adapted to throw the leverfor sliding the block I43 relative to the vise II2 thereby causing thebeveled portion I43a of the block to tilt the lever I42. This causes thetie straightener member I44 to move from the position shown in Figure 21to the position shown in Figure 22 against the wire W. This actionoccurs simultaneously with the movement of the looping finger I25 fromthe position shown in Figure 2 to the position shown in Figure 22. As aresult, the freeend portion of the looped wire is held tightly againstan intermediate portion of the wire for an appreciable distance as shownin Figure 22. The vise then closes on the two adjacent portions of thewire and the looping finger I25 as well as the straightener member I40are moved back to the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 22. Thetwisting pin H6 is then rotated to braid the looped end of the wire. Thetie straightener is thus positively controlled by cam action to squeezethe wire and to back mi from the wire during the twisting operation. TheVise II2, when opened, moves the straightener therewith out of the pathof the finished bale tie B. T.

The straightener member I48 insures the contacting relation between thefree end portion of the looped wire and an intermediate portion of thewire as shown in Figure 22 so that the anvil and vise will tightly gripboth portions of the wire while the twisting operation produces auniform tight braided twist on each wire.

The tie straightener thus cooperates with the looping pin to squeeze thewire portions laterally into contacting relation. The anvil and visesqueezes the wire portions in a single horizontal plane.

Summary From the above descriptions, it should be understood that thepresent invention now provides a high speed bale tie machine whichuniformly produces bale ties having twisted looped ends. The variousparts of the machine are controlled through positively driven membersincluding cams.

A feature of the invention includes the provision of a main cam shaftwhich positively controls movement of the work supports, the wirealigner, the looper, tie straightener, the stripping of the twister fromthe loop, and the vise. Positive control of these elements from a singleshaft makes possible an exact timing of the machine mechanisms so thatthe machine can be run at Very high'speeds. Machines of the presentinvention can produce from three tofour times the number of bale tiesheretofore produced by any prior known machine in the same length oftime.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of constructionmay be varied through a wide range without departing from the principlesof this invention and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit thepatent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of theappended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A bale tie machine comprising positively driven pairs of feed rollersgripping a plurality of wires therebetween, a plurality of open bottomedelongated guides receiving the wires from the feed rolls, shiftableclosures for said guide bottoms to retain the wires therein, anapertured block between the feed rolls and guides receiving the wiresthrough the apertures there of, knife carriages rockable over the faceof the block where the wires emerge, knives detachably secured in saidcarriages, a rock shaft for moving the knives past the apertures tosever the I Wires and for shifting said guide closures to discharge thesevered wires out of the guides, conveyors beneath the guides receivingsaid wires, a main driveshaft, a pawl and ratchet connection betweensaid main drive shaft and said conveyors for moving the conveyors toadvance the wires step by step, peripherally notched work supportsreceiving the wires from the conveyors, a main cam shaft driven fromsaid main drive shaft, a cam and ratchet connection between said camshaft and said work supports to rotate the supports for advancing thewires around the top portions thereof, a pusher successively engagingthe end of each wire in the work supports to longitudinally shift saidwires, a magnet acting on the shifting wires to arrest movement of thewires beyond the stroke of the pusher, a gripper receiving each shiftedwire therebetween, a looper for looping the end of the wire, a wirestraightener movable against the wire to cooperate with the looper foreliminating bowing of the wire, and cams on said main cam shaftactuating said pusher, gripper, looper and straightener. r 1

2. Abale tie machine comprising a plurality of feed rolls secured on asingle shaft, a cooperating vertically shiftable feed roll for each rollon the shaft, gear teeth connecting the feed rolls into positivelydriven pairs each receiving a wire therebetween, spring means urging thevertically shiftable feed rolls toward their cooperating rolls to gripthe wires therebetween, elongated open bottomed guides receiving thewires from the feed rolls, shiftable closures for the guide bottoms toretain the wires therein, an apertured block between the feed rolls andthe guides receiving the wires through the apertures thereof, rockablymounted knife grippers on the apertured block, knives clamped in eachgripper, means for rocking said grippers to move the knives past theapertures in the block for severing the wires, means for shifting saidclosures to discharge the severed wires out of the guides, peripherallynotched rotatable work supports, conveyors receiving the wires from saidguides to successively feed the same into the work supports, a pushersuccessively engaging the end of each Wire to longitudinally shift thewire in the work supports, a magnet cooperating with the shifting wireto arrest movement thereof beyond the stroke of the pusher, a looper forlooping the end of each wire, a wire straightener cooperating with saidlooper to clamp the looped end of the wire against an intermediateportion of the wire, and a positively driven cam shaft actuating saidlooper and said straightener.

3. A bale tie machine comprising a plurality of pairs of positivelydriven feed rolls receiving wires therebetween, gears connecting thefeed rolls of each pair, a resilient shiftable mounting for one feed ofeach pair, elongated supports receiving the wires from the feed rolls,cutters for severing the wires seated in said supports, conveyorsreceiving the severed wires from the supports, peripherally notched worksupports re ceiving the wires from the conveyors, a pusher forlongitudinally shifting the wires in the work supports, means forarresting the shifting of each wire beyond the stroke of the pusher, alooper for looping the end of each wire, a wire straightener cooperatingwith said looper, and a cam shaft positively actuating said looper andsaid wire straightener.

4. In a bale tie machine a feed mechanism comprising a driven shaft, aplurality of feed rolls keyed on said shaft, peripheral teeth on each ofsaid feed rolls, a plurality of vertically shiftable bearings above saidfeed rolls, a top feed roll in each of said bearings having teethadapted to match with said first mentioned teeth, and adjustable meansfor urging the top feed rollstowardthe first mentioned feed rolls toprovide a plurality of pairs of positively driven rolls each adapted togrip opposite surfaces of a wire passed therebetween.

5. In a bale tie machine a plurality of pairs of positively driven feedrolls for gripping opposite surfaces of a plurality of wires, anapertured block receiving said wires through the apertures thereof, rockshafts extending through said blocks, knife carriages secured on saidrock shafts, knives detachably clamped in said carriages and projectingtherefrom at selected distances toward the apertures in the block, andarms for oscillating said rock shafts to move the knives past theapertures for severing the wires emerging therefrom.

6. In a bale tie machine including rotatable wire supports, theimprovement which comprises a stationary magnet acting on wires in saidsupports to resist movement of the wires for holding the wires in thesupports.

7. In a bale tie machine including rotatable work supports and a pusherfor longitudinally shifting wires in said supports, the improvementwhich comprises a magnet acting on said wires to resist said pusher forholding said wires from shifting beyond the stroke of said pusher.

8. In a bale tie machine including a peripherally notched rotatable worksupport receiving wires in the notches thereof, the improvement whichcomprises a stationary segmental cylindrical magnet shoe adjacent saidwork support for acting on wires in the support to resist movementthereof.

9. In a bale tie machine including a peripherally notched rotatable diskreceiving wires in the notches thereof and a pusher for longitudinallyshifting the wires, the improvement which comprises a stationarysegmental cylindrical magnet shoe adjacent said disk for creating amagnetic field resisting movement of the wires in the notches of thedisk.

10. In a bale tie machine including a peripherally notched rotatabledisk receiving wires in the notches thereof, the improvement whichcomprises a segmental cylindrical magnet shoe stationarily mountedadjacent said disk and extending around the top portion only of thedisk.

11. In a bale tie machine including rotatable work supports, a movablewire gripper, a looper, a wire straightener for backing up the wireduring the looping operation, and a Wire pusher, the improvement whichcomprises a single main cam shaft and cams on said shaft for drivingsaid work supports, said gripper, said looper, said wire straightenerand said wire pusher in timed sequential relation.

12. In a bale tie machine a looper comprising an elongated post havingan annular shoulder near the top thereof, an arm projecting laterallyfrom the top of said post, a pin extending upwardly from said arm, anelongated cylindrical boss receiving said post and having a wide rimmedportion supporting said shoulder, and said post and said bosscooperating to provide an oil groove therebetween for lubrication of thepost throughout the entire length of the boss.

13. In a bale tie machine including a device for looping an end of awire, the improvement which comprises a wire straightener for abuttingthe wire, a lever sliding said member toward and away from the wire, anda positively driven cam for tilting said lever to effect abutment of thestraightener against the wire during the looping operation and forthereafter spacing the straightener from the wire.

14. In a bale tie machine including an anvil for receiving a wirethereover, a rockably mounted gripper cooperating with the anvil toclamp the wire therebetween, a twister pin, and a looping arm forbending the wire around the pin to lay the end of the wire over theanvil, the improvement which comprises a slidably mounted wirestraightener backing up the Wire during the bending operation andcooperating with the looping arm to bring the bent end of the wire intofull line contact with an appreciable length, of the adjacentintermediate wire portion extending over the anvil, a lever tiltablymounted on the gripper for actuating said straightener, a slidable blockon said gripper having a surface for tilting said lever to move thestraightener toward and away from the wire, a driven cam, a verticallever tilted by said cam, and a flexible linkage between said verticallever and said slidable block.

15. In a bale tie machine including a cam shaft and a wire looper driventhereby, the improvements which comprise a wire straightener for saidmachine adjacent said looper to abut the loop forming portion of thewire immediately next to the portion directly acted on by the looper toprevent bowing of the wire and means connecting said straightener withsaid cam shaft to positively operate the straightener at properly timedintervals.

16 In a bale tie machine including a twister pin, a looping arm forbending a wire around said pin, and a pair of clamping jaws for holdingthe bent wire, the improvement which comprises a shiftable wirestraightener cooperating with said looping arm to hold an intermediateportion of the wire against the bent free end of the Wire, and apositively driven cam for shifting said straightener.

17. In a bale tie machine the improvement which comprises a verticalcylindrical boss fixedly mounted on said machine, a forming postextending through said boss and having an annular shoulder riding on topof the boss, a looping pin on said post in spaced relation from the axisof the boss, a pinion secured on the lower end of said post beneath saidboss, and an arcuate gear segment engaging said pinion to rotate thepost.

18. In a bale tie machine including means for feeding a plurality ofwires and an apertured block receiving the wires through the aperturesthereof, the improvements which comprise knife carriages rockablymounted on said block adjacent each aperture therein, elongated knivesdetachably mounted in said carriages, and projecting therefrom atselected distances for movement past the apertures to sever wiresemerging therefrom and means for rocking said carriages to move saidknives toward and away from said apertures whereby the knives can beremoved from the carriages for sharpening and replaced in the carriagesto project the desired amounts therefrom.

19. In a bale tie machine including a twister pin, a looping arm forbending a wire around said pin, an anvil for receiving the wirethereover, and a movable clamping jaw cooperating with said anvil tohold thebent wire, the improvement which comprises a wire straightenermovably mounted on said clamping jaw and cooperating with said loopingarm to hold an intermediate portion of the wire against the bent freeend of the wire, and means for moving said wire straightener on saidclamping jaw toward and away from said intermediate portion of the wire.20. In va bale tie machine including a twister pin, a looping arm forbending a wire around said pin, and clamping jaws for holding the bentwire, the improvement which comprises a wire straightener intermediatethe clamping jaws and twister pin to abut the loop forming portion ofthe wire immediately next to the portion directly acted on by thelooping arm to prevent bowing of the wire during the looping operation.

GEORGE K. GAUME-R.

